Draft-gear attachment or coupling-yoke.



A. E. OSTRANDER.

DRAFT GEAR ATTACHMENT 0R GOUPLNG YOKE. APPLICATION 11111211 JULY z2,1912. 1., 1 22,41 2, 111111111611 111111. 29, 1914.

z SHEETS-SHEET 1.

mveNToR ZZe/a Mira/ader ATTORNEY A. E. USTRANDER. DRAFT GEAR ATTACHMENT0R GOUTLTNG YQKE.

2 SvHEETS-SHEET 2.

l N V E NTO R filiera E QSI/runder Nlbl.

2% ATTORNEY .LLEN E. OSTRANDER, LF RIDGLEVOOLD, NE JERSEY.

DRAFT-GEAR TTACHME GOLENG- VOI/CE".

'-"iag/ Conce/.rn l-noxrn tlmt l, ALLEN E. STRANDER, i at Ridgewood, NewJersey, and eitif/ien ot' the vUnited States, have certain new unduseful luiprove- Draft-Geur ttuclnnents or Cou- 1. et which thefollowing is zi full, uct description, such us Ywill skilled inthe ortto which it make und to use the suine, nud to the accompanying liillustrate the preferred nrention. though it is to be t tlie inventionis not limited tout di .ils of construction shown ilied, us it isolnious that furious ons thereof will occur to persons die nrt. r.nonrelutcs tou dru'lit geur ntor coupler yoke und inountings ie in u ourconstruction.

'-Q lie invention is to provide geur uttucl'unent adopted to entionulforni of draft geur, eut muy loe readily und coin minted unddisino'unted as u `lnil i'rom its position between the u'itliouruti'ecting tlie coupler, Hired so'tlizit the coupler muy loutdistiiiliiir;` the dru'lft Ancillary to this desiderrt to provide ununiutcre trurel A'between tlie draft luider -;ol -e.

is to provide. u device ot iurueter so constructed 'i .suliieetefl totension i rolled steel liuring igli iley tlie other parts muy rrunn'ed.devised und si iuilc.` emily constructed und u still 'further ry portsby utilizing' one ,sr-verni 'lion-.tions ililun View looking4 downzsruion oi' :i preferred physioil un' inrcixtion. Fig'. 2 tionfil Viewtoken in u plane v i tlie longitudinal center ot' "-2 of this ligure.:insrerse sectional View meiudieuted lry the line -f- 'ing` in thedirection indicated Fig. el is :1 similar view taken Specification ofLetters Patent.

'ie is the .line 123ml?) ot Fig: l2. looking' ni the Fia'.

atented Bec. 2Q, 1914:.

Application ilefl''uly 22, i912. Serial No. 710,858.

on the line l-l oi Fig. :2, ulso'looking in the direction indicated bythe arrow. Fig. 5 is u view similar to Fig. e taken on the line I 5 ofFig'. l, looking in the direction of tlie urrow. lig. f5 is :i plunYiewoi' the reur end of e. tlruft yoke forming u modilieution of the fornishown vin Figs. l und 2. Fig. T :i side elevational View of the partesliou'n in lfig. t3. Eig, is n rear elexl'zitional rien' oi Figs. oFigs. 9, 10 und l1 ure Niews similar to liigs. (5, i and 8 of :inotlicrmodified iorin ot draft yoke end. l2 and 13 :ire resiiiectively frontside 'eleruiion und top plan views ot tlie'front top. sliorn in dottedlines uttuclied to the outsitl of tlie sills in Figs. l und ,1

direction indicated oy the arrow. Figs. l5, lo undv li' ure respectivelyside eleYut-ion, plan und :front end elemtionul 'fie *s of the iront-'follow-er detuclied from its eoiiperutingrpurts. 'Fig 1S is o sideelevation of one. ol' the yoke struts. Figi. 1Q is i front elevationalrien' ot ille suine. und Fig'. Q0 is n side elevation of tlie forwardend `of one of tlie jroke stru'os or loops.

ln die several riewsvl hure shown u reliicle for urv improved'invention. 'including conventional purtsiind. ior the purpose ofillustration, llore shown a puir ol transversely spaced upurtv druiitsills in the forni oli outo'ur-dly spaced upert. u regulutiondist-lince, tlie outer ends or' "vi-hiel sills :1re 'T'ustened togctlierln' the usuul end sills und co-zmting"T ports B. boucle-ll to the reni'of said end sills und exiiending' truusi'erselv across the dru'lt is.the usual top bolster plulie'U, licueutii .fliicli bolster pluto undconnecting` the sills A. is tlie bolster center lilling oustingij D'fastened by ineuins of the rivets (Z to the inner 'linee or wel) oieucli of the sills the smid existing haring extendingy inwardly from itsforward ends trunverselyv spueed vertically disiiosed ribs or stops d.tukiir; the pluce ot ilie Jollo\\."er stops usually zillixetl to theinner 'l'uees olE the flrult .Tt will lie iotctl frein this constructiontliut there is :x clcur. urn/fos rooted pu ige, between the reurfollower stops d' und the end sill l). Within which splice muy bedisposed niv improved draft gear :ittuclnnent occupying the entiretransverse space loeifueing elninnel liars' tween sills, whicharrangement tends to facilitate the mounting and dismountmg of the draftgear yoke.

Fastened by means of rivets e2 to the underside of the lower [lange ofthe sills A and bridging the space between the same and positioned inadvance of the rear stops d a distance equal to the normal forwardtravel of the draft yoke is a guide bracket ll, affording means inaddition to the casting D for maintaining the sills in spaced relation,and having a top recess e affording a means for supporting the draftgear and having tracks e on opposite sides of the recess e forsupporting the loops, hereinafter described, at \the required height ofthe sill from the rails.

Positioned between the sills A and vfilling the space transverselybetween the same is the draft yoke (l, particularly forming thesubject-matter of this invention, which draft yoke comprises a pair oftransversely spaced yoke loops 2l, each yoke loop being in the form of ahorizoi'itally disposed U strap or rolled bar slidal'ly mounted on atrack e adjacent its contiguous draft .sill A. Each of these. loops aresimilar in configuration,

so that a detailed description ofl one will suffice for both.

Each ofthe yoke loops 21 comprise parallelly extending horizontal lees22, the forward eues of which are formed into slightly convergingportions 253, which portions are continuous around the bend or crotch24. Adapted to extend transversely through the sills A,'loops 2l and.coupler shank F is al flat horizontally disposed pin or key 25,affording means for supporting the coupler shank from the draft sills A,the pin being positioned in a horizontally disposed elongated slot'QG inthe draft sills, said slots being of a length equal to at least twicethe normal travel of the coupler shaft F plus the width of the key 25,whereby said key may travel in either direction from its normal centralposition with the coupler. l

In order to brace the flange of the draft sills at these slots, the sameare outlined by a slotted stop casting Q7' (see Figs. 12 and 13),whichcasting is suitably fastened by means of the rivets 98 to theoutside of the Vweb of the draft sills A.' It will be understood thatthe slot Q6 in the casting coinl cides with and, as shown in Fig. 3,outlines ,the slot 26 in the draft sills.

after described. To prevent this there is insei-ted between the legs "2or inclined portion of each of the yoke loops a strut 29. (See Figs. 18,19 and 20.) r[his strut has a material body portion 30 rectangular incross' section and having shoulder forming ends conforming to theconfiguration 'of the contacting surface of the adjacent loop, andextending from each of which ends are studs 3l, in this case shown to beangularly disposed, and adapted to engage apertures extending through orrecessed in the inner face ofv each of the portions 23. Extendingrearwardly from the upper and lower ends of the rear face of said strut,and preferably integral with the same, are top and bottom brackets 29adapted to overlap and elliectively brace the yoke loops at the point oranglo where portions iff-3 begin to converge.

Disposed between the draft sills and between the legs of the yoke loop'21 and slidably mounted therein is the head of a T-shaped frontfollower casting 34, the rear fa'ce of which head is defined by arecessed portion or ring 35, affording a pocket to contain one end ofthe spring sets, friction y elements or other mechanism constituting thedraft gear, these mechanisms forming" no particular part of thisinvention.

The opposite or front end of the follower 34 has a pair of transverselytically extending ribs or .lugs Y between' which is positioned the rearenc, )fthe coupler shaft F, so as to prevent transverse movement of thismember. In order to lighten the follower it is cast hollow or cored, asshown in Figs. l. and 3, and in order to brace the headto the stem o'rbody isposed ver-l portion a triangular shaped horizontally,

disposed bracket 3T is cast in each of the, angles between the head andstein. The stem of this front follower has a horizon: tally disposedkerf or slot 48 extending rearwardly from the front face thereof (seeFigs. 2 and l5) for a purpose hereinafter disclosed.

l Fxtending parallel to the key and passing horizontally through thefront followery 3l, draft sillsik and between the legs of the yoke loop2l, is a flat horizontally disposed locking key 3S slidably disposed inthe slot 4S, said key riding-in a slot in each of the. draft sills,which'slots coincide with a bearl ing slot 3S), which, as shown, may becontained in the casting QT, or :nav be a casting or plate independentof plate 27. Both the slots 2G and 8f) may be outlined by a rib 40,shown more particularly in Fig. 14, so as to afford a relatively widebearing or riding surface for the keys 25 and 38, Referring to Fig. 2 itwill be noted that the members are in their normal position.. 'in

which the key is in position substantially. centeredpn the slot 2W, theplay on this key' in either, direction 'being equal to the maxi- CII tdrawings.

Cri

'by means ot I Cri ninin allowable trayel ot the coupler shaft; that is,in general practice about Blf. order to prevent any possibility ot arinping ot the hey from its bearings, this slot 2S may he made slightlylonger 'toward the rear oit the hey when in normal position, so that ahailing action will be taken up entirely on the ribs cl" rather than thepin '213.

Constitat'ng the rear of the yoke and nidging the space between the yokeloops follower casting ell, sei'eral i 'which are disclosed. in the lngeneral, the toi-ward tace of the rear follower casting includes arecess l2, similar in outline, facing and in aline ment with the recesso5 and constituting a rear pocket to receive the draft gear.

As shown in the modilications disclosed in Figs. l and 2, the free endsot each of the 4 legs' are turned inward toward each' other and insertedinto vertical side recesses i125 at tne top and bottoni and on each sideot the casting 4l, the ends beingheld in position within the follower bymeans of' the horizontally extending rivets lt.

s shown in the modification disclosed in Figs. G, 'T and S, the treeends ot the legs are turned toward each other, and each end is upset totorni a broad portion l5, which broad portions l5 are inserted by atransverse movement in a vertically extending slot-i6 on each side ofthe rear follower casting ll. By this construction it will he noted thatthe ends ot each loop are held in position by the adjacent .craftsillthus affording a conrenient means tor holding these members inassembled position.

.its shown in the modification disclosed in lfigs. 9, l() and ll,` thetree ends ot the legs "2 are bent toward each other and litted formed at'he top and bottoni orl the trans-verse sides ot the rear tace ot thecasting el., inthis instance the members heine held in positionvertically disposed rivets 4S passing through the legs and body oi' thecasting il. r

`ltet'erring' naimicularly to Figs. l and Q, it

will he seen that a forward pull on aie oonpler shank lll will actthrough the pin loops 2l and rear follower #il to draw the latterforward on the bracket or seat the drat't gear disposed hetween thepockets toi-ined by the recesses and el, and causing the loops '2l todraw away troni the iront Afollower casting 334-,

ey 38 holding the trent 'follower cast- "n the position shown in Fic. 2,with gagging the liront end or the slot -transferring the strains to thesills rhe pull on the conpler sl'zanl; heine' released the dratt gearwill canse all ot' the meinhers to assanie the position shown in `liigs.l and 2.

It. hailing action on the couoler slianl; l

coupler yoke, -this point the dra'lt` Ki r will oe compressed to its'lull capaci" .insniitting the strains to the re rtol er Jj.. andthrough the saine the drat"U il. or to the draft sills through the he erliller plate D.

in important advantage of this construction trat the coupler yolzemay here mored is an entitv from its position beso tween the draft positionot' the understood that pins 50 'from th without allecting the couplershatt. lt will he bywitndrawing vthe Cotter e lieys 25 and 3S these keysmay be withdr .wn transversely from either side ol the dra t gears andthe forward end ot the coupler yoke allowed to drop and then slideforward until the rear end has cleared the bracket ll. 'The draftmembers may be reinserted by a reversal of this movement.

t'urther adr-.witzige ot this construction is that the coupler shank may`be removed without .',listurbing the arrangement of the being attainedby withdrawing the pin transversely through the sills and drawing thecoupler shank F forwardly through the end sills. i

ln or er to torni an economical construction that will withstand dent to:i device of this character, the yoke loops El are made oi a high graderolled steel. as it tlirse members that must Withstand the heavy tensionstrains, while the liront and rear followers may be made-o1e a 105cheaper 'torni oi material and are preferably castings', as the castingsmay be readily molded into the desiredshape and are not subjected tosevere tension strains. i

Thile the unob end sill and 'n )llower stops is shown, it is to beunderstood that this unobstructed vpassage need not extend to the endsill, but" should 'extend within the .entire zone of incrementot theyoke either in service or 1n 115 ot each loop. y y

2. ln combination, a draft yoke comprising a pair et spaced open loops,a rear follower uniting the ends olf each ot said loops and connectingthe pair ot spaced loops.

o. la combination a draft yolte coinpristhe strains inci- 3.00

strntted passage between 110 ing a pair of spaced open loops, a rearfol- -lower uniting said loops and the ends of each of said loops, afront followerl movably mounted within said loops and a supportedbracket carrying one end of said draft yoke.

el. lna car, slotted spaced draft sills with unobstructed 'opposingfaces, a pair of spaced open yoke loops and a casting constituting therear follower positioned within the outlines ofl said loops and connecting the saine and connecting parts of cach loop,'a bracket bracingsaid draft sills in position and having parallel tracks supporting oneend of said yoke and a movable key supporting the other end of saidyoke.

5.1n a draft gear attachment a yoke formed with spaced-open loops, arear connccting nfember inclosing the ends of said loops andconstituting ay rear follower, and a front follower slidably mountedbetween said loops.

6. The combination of draft sills, a follower occupying substai'itiall)Tthe transverse distance between the sills, said follower having a recesstherein adjacent a contiguous sill, and a coupler loop having a portionpositioned within said recess and held from transverse movement by saidsill.

7 .'l`he combination of draft sills, a follower occupyingsul'istantially the transverse distance between the sills, said followerliaving a recess ltherein adjacent a contiguous sill, a coupler loopIhaving a portion positioned within said recess and held from trans\'erse movement by ysaid co/nt-iguous draft sill, said loop having anupset end ,within said recess holding the loop from vertical movement.

8. The combination of draft sills, a follower occupying substantiallythe transverse distance between the sills, said followernaving a recessthei'eln, a coupler loop, having an end positioned within said recesslsaidend being upset to prevent the `withdrawa of saine from the recess.9. In a draft gear thereof, and a removable bracing strut bei.

yoke, a U-shaped rolled-metal loop, a rear follower posi-i tionedbetween and umtmg the free ends twee'nthe legs thereof to ii'iainti'iinthe same l said sills having a portion'supporting said loops.

ll. In a draft gear yoke, the combination of spaced U-sliaped loops,.each having a converging crotch end, a yspacing member within saidcrotch end, and a rear follower for a draftfgear connecting theiropposite free ends.

12.111 a. draft gear yoke, the combination of spaced loops converging atone end, a spacing member within said' end and a :ear

vfollower for av draft gear lapping their opposite ends and beingpositively connected therewith.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

ALLEN E. OSTRA'NDER. Witnesses R.. N. DAVENPORT, JOHN U. BURKE.

